Coming from someone who got an A+ in the class my main piece of advice is to go through the learning objectives on a whiteboard with a friend. Make diagrams, write key notes, and do anything else to help you totally understand what Kittlesen might test you on. I would also recommend trying to attend class often (the lectures are recorded though) and doing each reading and homework as they usually don't take too long and the content is very similar to class. Finally, do all of the practice exams at your dispense!! I discovered over the semester that Kittlesen would reuse some of the same exact questions, so definitely take his practice exam multiple times until you can immediately recognize the answer.

I loved Kittlesen and biol 2100 so much!! It was challenging for sure, but it was it was taught so well. Kittlesen has been teaching intro bio for decades for a reason, this man is gifted. This class made me realize the passion i have for biology, and I cannot hype it up enough. Kittlesen's exams are pretty challenging, but they definitely set you up very well for higher level college exams. He teaches you how to think like a biologist, ask and answer challenging questions, and how to study effectively. There were 5 total exams, with the final not being cumulative. I would definitely suggest taking your time to study the material, review it not just the week of the exam, go to P2L (it was super helpful for this course), and PLEASE take Kittlesen's suggestions - like I said, this man knows what he is talking about. If you want to pursue a career in health or biology, this class will either show you that you hate or love biology, there is no in between. I would also recommend taking this class in the fall first year, especially if you're pre-health and need to complete upper level bio classes and orgo second year. Also the class is larger in the fall, with more resources, and then biol 2200 in the spring.

This is definitely a harder class but it is extremely possible to get an A in. Go to all of the lectures as he randomly mentions niche facts that may help on the exam and do the Codon readings assignments on time. I reviewed the Codon readings and practice tests before each exam which helped a lot to review the whole unit and create a comprehensive review of it. These reviews really helped me and I used them to do practice questions until I had the information memorized. A lot of this class is memorization and talking through the learning objectives with friends is the best way to test your understanding and memory. Before each exam, my friends would go through all of the objectives to make sure that we understood it all. Overall, Professor Kittlesen is very nice and offers curves/opportunities to make up work, so with hard work a good grade is doable!

I ended up with an A+ in this class, which I feel provides me with some credibility due to the limited A+ rate of this class. I did not take AP bio in high school, my bio experience was limited to 9th grade intro to biology. The key to success in this class is consistent success on exams. Now, you are probably thinking to yourself something such as "obviously, idiot" or "no duh, Sherlock," to which I would probably not find a good response to. Anyways, I pretty much studied entirely with ChatGPT (allows time for vehement scoffing and eye rolling from the reader). Prior to exam weeks, I would read the Codon material (Don't make a habit of relying on Codon it basically walks you through biology like you are a toddler and will later serve as a simulacrum of what collegiate biology is like), be diligent in lecture, and spend time reviewing things still confusing. Exactly one week before the exam Kittlesen releases all of the LOs (usually). I would compile them into a document and sort them into two categories: writing to answer and drawing to answer. Then, usually the Monday before the exam I would take about 4-6 hours to answer the LOs in as much detail as I could without referencing my notes. Tuesday, I would study my notes--Googling, YouTubing, and inquiring to friends any details I was unfamiliar with. Wednesday, I would spend another 4-6 hours asking Chat to grade my understanding of the LO with a ruthless criteria and then updating my paragraph to page-length response to the LO. Thursday, I would study the LOs that Chat declared I had the worst understanding of. Friday afternoon I would take the Codon practice exams. Friday early evening I would demolish the exam. Friday late evening I would celebrate. I strongly recommend this method.
(note: hours per week is roughly 6.75 UNLESS the week of exam where work/life balance vanishes but exam success becomes palpable.

For context, I got an A+ in this class, so please take this advice seriously. A few things off the bat
- Even if you took AP Bio and got a 5 on the exam, I would still greatly recommend this class. Of course some content is repeated, you'll quickly realize that AP Courses don't actually reflect many intro college courses in the difficulty, amount of work, blistering speed of the content, etc.
- The class truly is not that hard. I really didn't go to many office hours, P2Ls, etc. Just don't skip lecture. I'll talk more on this

Since this will likely be one of your first ever college courses, it is very important for you to understand that many college courses revolve completely around exams because they make up such a large chunk of your grade (70% in this case, 5 exams, 14% each). Homeworks and Labs make a dent, but doing well on the exams should be your priority (Make sure you do the extra credit too, it truly adds up over the semester). Others have mentioned the idea that there is a certain way to go about preparing for Kittlesen's exams, and those who crack the code are the ones who do well. I kind of agree, but I feel like most are just mistaking the fact that they don't know how to study. The general formula to success on exams: Do the readings (I didn't read them too thoroughly nor did I take notes). I would sometimes watch YouTube videos to help me if I felt the content was clearly going to be harder than usual. Go to every lecture, don't skip. This is where he goes over everything, and you'll notice how he introduces lots of stuff not in the readings, and those things will be on your exams. I never rewatched lectures, I just went the first time, focused, and took notes. Don't go overboard with the notes. The purpose notes serve is to have a document that lists what you went over in class so you what is going to be on your exams. Never get behind. If you feel like the content was confusing, and you don't get it, watch you some YT vids and do a bit of practice. Getting behind leads to bad cramming. When the exam is approaching, start preparing about a week ahead. Start with a mostly content review (YT vids mostly), shift to a mix of practice (Codon had amazing practice, online resources, etc) and content review, and then a day or two before the exam should be 90% practice. Actively practicing the content through difficult questions is how you actually do well on the exams. It'll force you to make the connections, and you'll truly see if you understand (and can apply!!!) the content or not. The best resources are Codon, as well as AI quizzes. Give the AI your learning objectives, your notes, etc. NotebookLM from Gemini is great for this (students get pro for 1 year free). It isn't perfect, but nothing is. If you can give it screenshots of sample questions Kittlesen gives out, even better.

Otherwise, you should be good. Just be proactive, do consistent content review, and do a lot of practice problems. Don't be intimidated.

Kittlesen seems like a really nice guy but he's too smart for an intro bio course. The course is 15% Codon assignments, 15% lab, and 5 tests that are 14% each. For context I got a 5 on the IB Bio HL exam so I thought I'd be ok but Kittlesen's tests were very difficult. The highest raw score I got was an 88 and that was on the last exam. I think that Kittlesen's exams probably have a method to the madness and once you figure out what he's looking for it's more manageable. I wasn't able to do that personally. The Codon readings were good for background info because Kittlesen doesn't explain basics of many things. The biggest tip I would have is to go to lecture and actually pay attention. If he says something that confuses you I would go to a TAs office hours because they are much better at explaining things in an understandable way. The only reason I went to Kittlesen's office hours was to figure out what might be on the exams, not to clarify topics in class. Lastly, DO THE EXTRA CREDIT. Even if it's early in the semester it can really bump up your grade at the end. I was looking at a B or B+ and the extra credit got me to an A-.

I LOVED this class. It was seriously my favorite class that I took this semester. I was very scared to take this class after I saw some of the CourseForum reviews, but I was able to earn a 99.9957 in this class after the bonuses were applied. I thought I would share my honest advice for anyone considering this class:
- If you have AP credit from high school, STILL TAKE 2100!!!!! I cannot emphasize this point enough. I had friends on my floor who decided to forgo 2100 and start with genetics and/or neurobiology, and they did not love their life. College takes some adjusting to. You are meeting so many new people, living in a new place, and you have to figure out A LOT about yourself in a very small timeframe. PLEASE do not stress yourself out for no reason. I saw this class as a pre-med GPA booster, and it was for me.
- Find yourself a P2L instructor you like and STICK TO IT. If Marika is still an instructor, I could not recommend her enough she is absolutely amazing. I went to P2L every Sunday night and treated it like it was mandatory. It was very helpful to review the material on a weekly basis.
- RECORD ALL OF HIS LECTURES! He records them himself, but he has an older iPhone, so the quality is often not the best. I recorded them myself (which he says on the first day is okay) and would relisten to them when needed.
- If you are lost on something in class, DO NOT procrastinate and make it your “weekend problem”. Go sit down in the library, relisten to the lecture, and figure it out. His exams cover an absurd amount of content, so if you are confused before you even start reviewing you are really not putting yourself in a good position.
- GO TO OFFICE HOURS! Kittlesen is a very, veyr nice professor and WILL take the time and effort to learn your name if you go to office hours and make it known that his class is a priority for you. He will answer the dumbest questions known to mankind in office hours, so utilize them! If you want him to re-explain something to you in great detail, he will! I also found it helpful because if you ask him about points in the learning objectives, he will very often clarify what specific parts from lecture he will be testing you on.
- Find someone (or even better, multiple people) in the class who you trust to have detailed notes and be in your study group. I will acknowledge that I lucked out in this aspect because my best friend was in the same lecture as me. If you are confused/need help on a topic, having friends who you can easily reach out to is invaluable.
- sit near the front and ASK QUESTIONS. Kittlesen LOVES questions. I found sitting near the front to be very helpful because it forced me to pay attention. Asking questions was very helpful for me as well because he often realized that if multiple people were confused, he did not do a good job explaining it the first time and would try again.
And lastly, I know this is iterated in other reviews, but he only tests on material that he lectures about during class time. Do not over stress about the homework, because you will not see it on the test.
Good luck to my fellow biol 2100 warriors! You got this!!!

Please do not take this class for granted! It is actually pretty difficult because Kittlesen doesn't really know how to teach a lecture. There are just a bunch of pictures on his slides, which makes it hard to follow along. I do think that it is very possible to get an A or at least a B in this class, but you really have to put in the work outside of class. I would start studying a week before the exam and would study for about 20 hours total for one exam. The codon readings and lab are only 30% of your grade, but they do help a lot to cushion the exams. If you do really badly on one exam that could make or break your grade, so make sure you try your best on every single one of them. If I weren't a kinesiology major, I don't think I would be taking this class, but you really do learn a lot about yourself from it, like how to study, especially. He does offer extra credit throughout the semester and a little bit of a curve depending on how the rest of the class did on an exam, but the highest curve I think the class got was like 2% on one of our exams. So for all incoming students for this class, please try very hard on it.

Just found out I got an A in this class, and you can too. For reference, I took this second year Fall sem and I took it after BIOL 2200. Personally, I found 2200 MUCH harder, but I think it depends on which you take first. I did not take any AP bio in high school and had zero knowledge coming into this class, and I found it so much easier than 2200 and more enjoyable too. You must be able to do well on the exams in this class because they are weighted so heavily in your final grade. Here's what I did to study: start the Saturday/Sunday before the exam (exams are always Fridays) by rewatching every single lecture. Listen slowly for understanding and pause as needed to write down literally everything he says. After you finish this, fill out the learning objectives that Kittlesen will send out a couple of days before the exam. I did this in a study group of 3 people but would also do them on my own to make sure I understood it all. It's really helpful to study in a group because you can check each other when you're wrong. Relisten to any lectures that you are still fuzzy on, draw EVERYTHING out, explain topics out loud without notes to check understanding, and make sure you can interpret any diagrams on his slides in lecture. I HIGHLY recommend P2L for this course, especially if Marika is still a coach, she is awesome. P2L will break down the concepts AND allow you to practice applying your knowledge to new things you have not seen before, which is HUGE on exams. He's also been known to take stuff from P2L and put it on exams. The bottom line of this class is you will NOT be able to scrape by by memorizing or cramming, you have to deeply understand the concepts and be able to apply it to completely new situations on exams. There is no cumulative final, it's just another unit exam, BUT study for that thing like your life depends on it because the content is DIFFICULT. Kittlesen did not do an exam drop this year so you really need to be locked in for every exam because one bad grade can screw you quickly. GOOD LUCK and do not listen to people telling you this is a weed-out class!!!

Unless you are a biology major/need this course for your major, I would not recommend this course with kittlesen. He is a very knowledgeable professor, but he is not the right professor for this class. You would need a very, VERY, strong base in biology already to understand the concepts in this class well. It is known as a weed out. I am on the less popular side of opinions as most people do like him, but it is just too advanced to be considered intro. Just pick another class if possible